Hi Everyone,
Ditto for me on expressing thanks to the CDM gang - another great show!
Some of my favorite cars seen at the show:
Victor Barajas' '61 PL221 Wagon, definitely my favorite of the
non-roadster pre-70 group. This green and yellow number includes matching
upholstery, curtains, and pillows in the back. Very nice!
Andy Paz's '67 RL411 Sedan is definitely a car to acquire, especially since
it has the roadster internals. Great looking car!
Joe Roach's red '65 1500, always great to look at this nicely detailed
1500.
Warren Harding's white '66 1600 frameoff restoration, very clean.
Also Jon Frampton's '67.5 1600, extremely well detailed by Terry Turpin.
My thanks to Terry for giving out the pics Saturday from the Solvang meet
in April. During the Solvang run to the beach, Terry was behind the BADROC
group while we handled the twists and turns getting over the mountain
passes. I don't know how he held onto the camera while we all took those
15mph hairpin turns at 40mph or more!
Mike, the beautiful blue '71 Z that tagged along with us belongs to Paul
Hooks from Santa Clara. Lots of hi-perf work in his engine.
BTW, Mike and I swapped cars during part of the ride down from SF to Dana
Point (over 110 miles). My ears are still ringing from the roar of his
roadster. I asked him what the hell kind of muffler he's got, he says it's
all from the Solexes. Geez, those suckers howl!
Michael left out a couple things about our ride there and back. I think the
engine is broke in now, especially the time I noticed my 120 speedo
bottoming out. Oh, it wasn't all fun. We had a nervous moment when a
highway patrol cop came out of nowhere and came up behind me, with Michael
in front of me (and smart Dave trailing back behind the cop). He lingered
for about 20 seconds while we slowed down, then he jams on the brakes and
pulls behind an ordinary sedan and pulls him over! Luck was with us this
weekend! Another thing he left out, while driving by Santa Monica and
Malibu, all the gals in other cars making eyes at him and his Sora Blue
'66. Geez, Michael, how do you do that?
I have Les to thank for much of the performance of my engine. At Solvang
last April, Les spoke to a small group of us about the bad rap that U20
engines get on the timing chain setup. Basically, he said it isn't bad
engineering. If you set up the timing gears and chains with the proper
geometry you can get exceptional performance. He went on about getting the
geometry correct with the right chains, gears, and cam height. After
Solvang, I started on my rebuild of the rusty blown U20 sitting in my
garage the past 20 years. I took his advice and tried to set it up right.
Thanks Les! I also did a couple other things, reducing the friction on the
crankshaft, jackshaft, and camshaft so they're free-spinning. Also smoothed
out the intake ports and the insides of the carbs and reworked the throttle
shafts. This weekend Marc Sayer gave me and Mike some carb tips that may
gain 8hp. Great bunch of guys at CDM!
After Mike and I parted ways in San Francisco, I exited the freeway near my
home with a tricked-up Honda Prelude following me. At the stoplight, these
2 young guys in the Prelude were checking out my '66 roadster, and I knew
they were challenging me to race. The light changed, and I let them jump
halfway through the intersection before I jumped on it. I passed them
before getting through the intersection and left them trailing wondering
how a 30 year old car beat them! It's the roadster email list and all you
guys who helped!
See yah, Fred
SF BADROC
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